How the NFL is back in fashion

Super Bowl LVIII between the Kansas City Chiefs and the San Francisco 49ers was the most-watched television broadcast in history with over 123 million viewers, capping off a memorable season for American Football. Indeed, after years of difficulties, the NFL is once again the leading sport in the US and has also managed to capture a growing audience around the world thanks to the International Series and a revamped star system. And Las Vegas proved to be the perfect stage for the show on Sunday. Hollywood stars and showbiz icons cheered on the players of the two finalist teams, transforming the tunnels of Allegiant Stadium into a catwalk three hours before the game. From the car to the locker room, we saw a dapper head-to-toe Bottega set from Chiefs running back Jerick McKinnon, a quirky LV Damier denim set from Trey Dean and a Prada set with multiple bags from SanFran Wr Deebo Samuel. All garments that are not to be envied from the current SS24. Even Travis Kelce, the most anticipated player of the night, shone in a bespoke sequin and tweed Amiri suit. Perhaps to match the glitz of his Super Bowl ring or his girlfriend: a little-known singer named Taylor Swift in by far the most-watched story of the weekend.

Fashion in the NFL

Although NFL players are seen as less fashion-conscious than NBA basketball players or Premier League footballers, this is not the case. In fact, it's fair to say that fashion in the NFL is a competition in its own right, with stars working hard to develop their personal style and look before the game. The influence and visibility of fashion seems to be growing, with more and more athletes regularly attending Fashion Week shows for brands such as Marni, Amiri, Rhude and Louis Vuitton. Even New York Giants star Saquon Barkley walked the runway for Hermes last September, just as his football teammates have done before. In a sport that is highly esthetic on the pitch with helmets, shoulder pads and oversized jerseys, players are boldly working with their personal stylists to find fashion inspiration that characterizes them when they're not wearing the game gear.

The fascinating thing about dressing NFL players is that they are so unconventionally built and have such rigid, rule-bound team contracts. "It's a gradual process that requires a lot of communication. You get to know them on a personal level, understand their personal style goals, get to know their personality and what they already like. From there, you can create a basis for working together to find their personal style and then develop it further,' explains athlete stylist Justin Hurtt, who shared his method with me. It obviously works, as one of his many NFL clients, Jordan Fuller, was recently voted 'Most Improved Style' after working with Hurtt. "When people recognize your work, especially at this level, it's a nice recognition and allows you to get even better." He also shared with me his personal thoughts on the importance of player image and being open to styling and branding deals: "It's an easy way to make yourself known, and a large number of people and companies can see who you are without marketing costs. It's a great opportunity to take advantage of." And many stylists are seizing this opportunity, he says: "Jean Paul Gaultier, Feng Chen Wang, Norwoods, Currency Studio, Sans Gene, New Bedstuy and many others. I am very grateful to the brands for supporting and loving my clients."

Stefon Diggs and OBJ: the examples

NFL players are proving that their interests and passions extend beyond the playing field by getting curious about design, fashion and style. Consider the care and research that players like Stefon Diggs put into the off-season, who has become a major fashion player at Balenciaga, Louis Vuitton, Rick Owens and Anna Wintour's MET. His genuine interest in vintage garments - from Simone Rocha's beaded backpack to Loewe's pouf and Chanel's unattainable vintage cardigans - has made him a leading figure ahead of the game. Like Lewis Hamilton and LeBron James, he has become one of the profiles to watch before, during and after a game. His appearances often go viral, and new photos of him pop up every day on IG pages like @stefondaily. Diggs is a true savant and fashion enthusiast. He's even a loyal customer of New York luxury department store Hirshleifers, an institution with a long family history, and is about to officially launch his own fashion brand too: Liem Homme.

And you can't talk about fashion in the NFL without mentioning the role of Odell Beckham Jr. Once criticized for focusing too much on tattoos, jewelry, branding and dancing, he is now respected as a pioneer of this new wave in the NFL. Although he won the Super Bowl two years ago, his personality has evolved beyond sport and a large proportion of his 17.7 million followers on IG follow his looks and lifestyle. Recently, Odell has gone even further with bespoke leather outfits for his games, one of which has been doing the rounds on the internet with its cowhide finish. I spoke to London-based designer Jamie Mcfarland about how he came to create the vintage biker look for the gamer. Having designed for the likes of Giveon, Burna Boy and Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, I wanted to know why Beckham Jr. chose him. "He shared his thoughts on the trajectory of NFL players and their fits. I truly believe that sports stars are the future of fashion. It's not just about having access to designer clothes and wearing whatever anymore, but athletes really want to be taken seriously in fashion. I definitely see more designers asking them to walk in fashion shows".

Also, it's not uncommon for someone like OBJ to seek out luxury items that are hard to get legally. This is where the luxury style consultant comes in. I spoke with 2Cozy, a highly influential tastemaker known in the sports and fashion industry for its niche agency (2CozyMedia for advice and inspiration and Shopwith2Cozy for rare luxury finds) that helps players, including Odell, find and buy niche and vintage designer pieces. "Odell's designer contacted us discreetly because he knew we could source rare pieces". These pieces include vintage Gucci jeans embellished with crystals and a beautiful Hermes Hac a Dos in baby blue that has gone viral on the internet. "Having dealt with footballers like Wilfred Zaha, our site is confidentially shared by like-minded athletes, stylists and agents whose clients want to shop luxury. Most of the time they are also looking for an exclusive piece: being first plays an important role with athletes, even in fashion".

The influence of the Super Bowl

Of course, the Super Bowl isn't just about the sport, with the two strongest teams of the season facing off in a cut-and-dry final, it's also about the spectacular garnish and the highly anticipated halftime show. And if last year Rihanna definitively launched a brand like Loewe thanks to a red cargo suit that served as both a performance and maternity garment, this year the stage was dominated by Usher and the fashion brands wanted to be protagonists in equal measure. Usher followed RiRi's lead and showed two different fashion looks this year: a white Dolce&Gabbana set, followed by a five-piece look by OFF-WHITE, which included a biker jacket in blue. But other brands also wanted to use the platform of the world's most-watched game to increase their presence. Such as Skims, who chose Usher as the face of the Man campaign and could count on Patrick Mahomes and Nick Bosa as testimonials on the pitch: The two leaders of their respective teams wore underwear from Kim Kardashian's brand, which has just launched its men's line and signed a sponsorship deal with the NBA.

Versace also collaborated with Super Bowl director Jay-Z this year, dressing athletes from his agency Roc Nation Sports in bespoke looks. And there were countless VIPs crowded into the most exclusive skyboxes at Allegiant Stadium because, as always, the most important thing is to be there. But never so much as this year - perhaps it was the Taylor Swift effect - did no one want to miss it, much to the delight of Roger Godell and the entire NFL. Because where else, other than a Paris Saint-Germain or NBA game, would you see stars like Justin Bieber - in Marine Serre - and Taylor Swift - in Dion Lee and Area - doing free publicity on big screens in front of 60,000 fans? That's incredible visibility, making the NFL the most watched sport in the world and a role model for everyone else, including brands and fashionistas.

By now, the Super Bowl should've shown you that the NFL has a loud, clear and robust ecosystem when it comes to fashion. Most, if not all players boldly have a gameplan on how to develop their personal style, with stylists and experts willing to help (even if that means custom sizing!). They know how to engage both luxury brands and fans with their style in a way that works so seamlessly. At this rate, it seems NFL’s fashion influence will grow as quick if not quicker than that of European-football’s modest approach.